Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Now that
spending hawk Paul Ryan is in the national consciousness on a full-time basis, I thought
it was a good time to take a look at U.S. Senator Tom Coburn's 2011 Wastebook: A Guide to Some of the Most
Wasteful and Low Priority Government Spending of 2011. This report
outlines $6.9 billion worth of spending that was completely unnecessary.
While $6.9 billion out of total spending of $3.6 trillion in 2011 seems
insignificant, it is evidence of the mismanagement that takes place when an
organization gets so overwhelmingly labyrinthine that it can no longer control
or track its own spending.

Here are a
few of the more interesting examples of the creativity involved in wastefully spending
your hard-earned and painfully remitted tax dollars:

1.) The Presidential Election Campaign Fund (PECF): This year, both political
parties will receive a total of $35.38 million from taxpayers to pay a
significant portion of convention costs. There are minimal restrictions
on how PECF funds are spent; they must be used to defray expenses incurred with
respect to a presidential nominating convention". So, when you're
glued to the television later this month and again in early September, watching
the Democrats and Republicans release balloons, wave placards and flags and
throw confetti, "you did that!". Just in case you forgot, in 1994, Congress increased the amount that you can voluntarily donate to this worthy cause from $1 to $3. In 1980, 28.7 percent of taxpayers checked off the magic donation box on their tax returns; this dropped to only 6.6 percent in 2010. Unfortunately for the party-goers, if you don't donate, they don't get balloons and confetti.

2.) The
Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere": A 2.7 mile long bridge that would
connect Anchorage to a small Alaskan community will cost between $650 and $700
million. This year alone, $15.3 million of federal funding was spent on
the Knik
Arm Crossing Bridge and, in total, taxpayers have ponied up more than
$65 million including $57,390 for a 14 minute long promotional video.
Here's an animation showing you where your money was spent:

3.) Paying the Dearly Departed: Every year for the past five years, the
folks at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management have sent an average of $120
million in retirement and disability payments to deceased former (I assume)
federal employees. Over the past five years, over $601 million of your
tax remittances have gone to pay those who are no longer with us.

4.) Preserving Your Junk Toys: The International Centre for the History of Electronic Gameslocated
in Rochester, N.Y. received over $113,000 in federal funding to preserve
video games. The center has over 37,000 items, arguably the most
comprehensive public assemblage of electronic games in the United States.
Admission is $13 for adults but children under two years of age get in
free! The second largest collection of outdated electronic games just
happens to be located in my basement. Admission is free. If you
wish to help the Center out in addition to your tax donation, they will accept
donations of used equipment or money.

5.) Remaking
a Television Classic: In fiscal year 2011, the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) provided $10 million to Rafi Peer Theatre
Workshop, a Pakistani arts organization, to create "130 episodes of an
indigenously produced Sesame Street". The show will be renamed
"SimSim Humara" and is set in a village in Pakistan. In case
you care, here is a promotional video for the show:

You're
welcome.

6.) Home
Energy Efficiency Tax Credits Gone Awry: Based on a sampling of tax
returns, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration estimates that
nearly 30 percent of American taxpayers who claimed tax credits for increasing
the energy efficiency of their homes had no record of actually owning a home.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration estimates that as much
as $1 billion or more was claimed fraudulently, including claims made by
children under the age of 18 (and as young as three) and hundreds of rather
clever inmates who were incarcerated at the time. It's nice to see that people are still creative, isn't it?

While it's
great that Mr. Ryan wants to cut spending and achieve some sort of fiscal
balance, the system does not appear to lend itself willingly to controls. It's not just over-spending that's the problem, it's stupid spending that's a significant issue. Senator Tom Colborn's report contains one hundred examples of the finest
in ill-advised spending by the federal government, just the tip of the waste
iceberg. Administrations have made repeated and fruitless efforts to
control this issue by passing legislation that will curb waste, unfortunately,
it seems that when you are not spending your own money, it flows uncontrollably
like water between your fingers.

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About Me

I have been an avid follower of the world's political and economic scene since the great gold rush of 1979 - 1980 when it seemed that the world's economic system was on the verge of collapse. I am most concerned about the mounting level of government debt and the lack of political will to solve the problem. Actions need to be taken sooner rather than later when demographic issues will make solutions far more difficult. As a geoscientist, I am also concerned about the world's energy future; as we reach peak cheap oil, we need to find viable long-term solutions to what will ultimately become a supply-demand imbalance.